Throughout the month of August, VirginiaPreps.com will begin previewing the upcoming 2017 High School Football season. As part of our comprehensive coverage, we will be counting down the Top Ten rankings for each classification.
#10 - Giles Spartans
What to Know: It's a rich history of excellence on the gridiron at Giles, a program that has made 26 playoff appearances, notched 43 postseason victories and won four state titles. Coach Jeff Williams' Spartans went 8-4 a season ago, beating Marion 56-21 in the opening round of the 2A-West Region playoffs before being ousted by eventual State Champ Appomattox 45-21 in the second round. Even though there are some key players to replace, such as 2nd Team All-State return man Austin Pennington, there is a lot to like about this squad.
Handling the quarterback duties will be senior Ryan Beidleman, who ran for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2016. Beidleman is even better on defense, where he earned 1st Team All-State honors at defensive back for intercepting a team-high eight passes. Ben Reynolds, a 2nd Team All-State offensive lineman, is back as one of the guys giving him time to operate. Other captains besides those two include senior lineman Ethan Roe and senior RB/DB Ty Ratcliffe.
Lost before the playoffs last year due to injury, junior RB/DB Jacoby Wilson returns and should be a valuable two-way playmaker for the Spartans. Quite possibly the key to how far Giles goes will be how the linebackers step up. Anthony Meadows graduated after recording a school-record 128 tackles last season. Keep an eye on sophomore defensive end Kip Green (6-6, 280) in the trenches for the Spartans. Green figures to be a game-changer with a great chance to develop into a highly coveted prospect.
Final 2A Rankings for 2016:
#1 - Appomattox (15-0)
#2 - Richlands (13-2)
#3 - Goochland (13-1)
#4 - Stuarts Draft (13-1)
#5 - Union (11-2)
#6 - Graham (11-2)
#7 - Dan River (10-2)
#8 - Clarke County (10-3)
#9 - East Rockingham (9-4)
#10 - Glenvar (9-3)
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